Second Year Courses

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SOC2004S RACE, CLASS & GENDER

Convenor: Dr A Benya

This course introduces and critically examines various understandings of the concepts 'race', class and gender. It explores ways in which these categories intersect to shape experiences of inequalities in South Africa and outside both historically and in the present.

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SOC2015S COMPARATIVE INDUSTRIAL & LABOUR STUDY

Convenor: B Tame

This course focuses on change in industrial and labour practices internationally. The following could be included: paths of industrialisation followed by selected countries; the international division of labour; the implications of these and other global economic trends for labour and industrial relations. The countries and regions selected for close study will usually lie in East Asia, Latin America and Africa.

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SOC2019S SOCIAL THEORY

Convenor: Prof X Mangcu

This course deals with a wide range of social theories - ranging from classical to contemporary. The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to social theory and to demonstrate the value of theory in guiding research, aiding understanding and challenging conventional ways of seeing and interpreting the world. The theories dealt with include those focused on modernity, late modernity and African modernity

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SOC2030F POVERTY, DEVELOPMENT & GLOBALISATION

Convenor: Dr F Matose

This course examines the great contemporary global problems of poverty and inequality. Sources and selected empirical cases of poverty and inequality are explored and related development theories and policies are examined. The geographical scope of the course ranges from the local to the international.

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SOC2032F CULTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Convenor: Dr A Pande

This course examines what it means to be living in a ‘global village’. What is changing and what is continuing in the contemporary world? How does this affect the ways in which people organise their lives and interact with each other? The course pays particular attention to the effects of cultural globalisation. Topics will be drawn from a range of issues and processes including: cultures of consumption; the media; changing family forms and norms; sexuality, gender, age and class relationships; identity; religious and other beliefs; control and access to knowledge and knowledge dissemination; and political engagement, mobilisation and struggle around aspects of cultural globalisation.

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SOC2036F Power and Society

Convenor: Dr R Chaturvedi

This course deals with themes in the sociology of power and the dynamics of structure and agency in the context of structured social inequalities. Issues are drawn from industrial society and change, diversity, development, social research, social policy and social theory. Students will be expected to show knowledge of and critically examine information and ideas which deepen understanding of the selected social issue/s, contextual socio-historical processes and the ways in which these relate to power in society.